The Silent Supply Chain: Why Manufacturers Can’t See Device Movement Beyond Warehouses

This is the reality for 76% of manufacturers today. They have really good visibility of their products within their factories or warehouses, but as soon as the product is out for shipment, the entire visibility is turned to a black vision.

Between the goods being delivered to the end consumer from a warehouse (truck, wholesaler, retailers, etc.), manufacturers literally rely on the trust and manual processes to verify their goods. Industry experts call it "the black box"—a visibility void where devices move through distributors, resellers, and end-users without leaving a digital trace.

In 2025, with tightening regulations and rising counterfeit threats, this silence costs manufacturers millions in recalls, grey market losses, and compliance penalties.

This blog breaks down why post-dispatch visibility is the manufacturing industry's biggest blind spot, and how modern traceability solutions are finally turning silent supply chains into transparent ones.

When Products Leave Your Warehouse, They Enter a Black Box

Inside your facility, you have complete visibility. Outside? You're blind.

The Post-Dispatch Visibility Gap

After goods are dispatched from the warehouse, the average time for manufactured goods to stay in the blind spot is 79 days in 2024, which was 65 days before COVID. That's nearly three months where products exist in a tracking void. Between all this, the manual process to keep a track of goods is simply a gamble.

Manual processes don't scale:

• Email confirmations get lost
• Spreadsheet updates lag behind reality
• Phone calls with distributors provide incomplete information
• Detention costs and bottlenecks go unnoticed until losses mount

Why This Matters for Recalls

In case of any mishaps or product complaints, manufacturers face tough choices:

• Recall everything (expensive and damages reputation)
• Recall nothing (legally risky and dangerous)

This is because they do not know where their specific batches are. The lesson here is that the recalls cost 10x more when you can't pinpoint which distributors hold affected units.

Post-Dispatch Blind Spots Create Risk

When manufacturers lack downstream visibility, issues compound quickly. Products with falsified documents or quality problems reach end customers before anyone notices. Fixing these problems becomes exponentially more expensive without real-time tracking.

Real-World Impact: The AOG Technics Scandal

The 2023 AOG Technics case revealed how catastrophic this visibility gap can become.

The UK distributor supplied thousands of aircraft engine parts with falsified airworthiness documents. Manufacturers like GE and Safran had no digital visibility into the distributor's specific stock movements.

Airlines were forced to ground planes and manually hunt for potentially dangerous components, a nightmare that could have been prevented with real-time downstream traceability.

The Three Downstream Blind Spots Costing You Millions

The downstream supply chain hides three critical blind spots that systematically drain manufacturer profits and control.

Blind Spot #1: Distributor Movement

The hardest data to capture happens during distributor custody.

The problem:

• Distributors use systems built for their own needs, not yours
• Most operations are manual with minimal digital integration
• Data silos prevent visibility into stock movements​

The consequence:

• Can't pinpoint where problems originate
• Corrective actions get delayed
• Compliance issues trigger fines

Blind Spot #2: Grey Market Diversion

You ship 10,000 devices to an authorised distributor in one region. What you don't see is 2,000 units moving to unauthorised wholesalers in higher-priced markets.

The numbers:

• Grey market expanded by 60%+ in revenue over six years
• Unauthorised US sales: $7-$10 billion annually

What you lose:

• Direct revenue from diverted products
• Brand control across markets
• Warranty costs from unsupported regions
• Official dealer relationships

Blind Spot #3: Counterfeit Infiltration

Without endpoint visibility, you can't distinguish genuine products from counterfeits in distributor networks.

Scan data from distribution points reveals unauthorised handling, but only if you collect it. Most manufacturers don't.

Why Distributors Won't Share Data (And What to Do About It)

Distributors resist sharing detailed data for one main reason: fear of disintermediation.

The Distributor's Fear

They believe complete visibility into their operations will lead you to cut them out and sell directly. The distributor’s fear is fair as well. Traditional approaches demand open books, sales data, and margin exposure. This creates friction.

The Solution: Track Scans, Not Sales

You don't need their sales spreadsheets. You need to scan data.

How it works:

Change the incentive structure. When distributors scan cartons to register warranties or unlock rewards, they voluntarily feed location data into your system. Products report their own locations.

Making It Secure

Non-cloneable QR codes use microscopic physical patterns that work like fingerprints. The system verifies both digital codes and physical structures. Even if counterfeiters copy QR codes, they can't replicate unique label characteristics.

The ERP Trap: Why Your System Can't See Beyond the Dock

ERP systems excel at internal inventory management. They struggle with external tracking.

What ERPs Do Well

• Purchase orders
• Production schedules
• Warehouse stock levels
• Internal data management

Where ERPs Fall Short

They can't handle information generated outside their ecosystem. Tracking inbound shipments requires supplemental software and extensive IT integrations.

Traditional ERPs were designed for specific transport modes, not multi-modal global networks.

The Visibility Gap

Your ERP says: "Order #505 contains 500 items and was shipped on Tuesday."

Your ERP can't say: "Item #1003 was scanned in Mumbai at 2:47 PM by distributor XYZ."

That unit-level, real-time visibility doesn't exist in standard ERP architecture. The limitation is structural, not a flaw.

How Acviss Origin Turns Silent Chains Into Transparent Ones

Acviss Origin tracks products like laboratories track samples through LIMS systems. Every movement gets recorded. Every handler gets logged. If the chain breaks, the system flags it immediately.

Acviss Origin: Post-Dispatch Visibility Solution

Real-Time Geofencing

• Custom monitoring zones
• Automatic alerts for zone entries/exits
• Tracks complete journey: warehouse → distributor → end-user
• Flags unauthorised locations instantly

Non-Cloneable Authentication

• Microscopic label patterns
• Verifies digital code + physical structure
• Prevents counterfeiting

Blockchain Traceability

• Immutable scan records
• Tamper-proof audit trails
• ​Real-time grey market detection​

Dashboard as LIMS

• Works over existing ERP systems (SAP, Dynamics 365)
• Provides unit-level tracking
• Complete supply chain visibility
• Compliance documentation ready for audits

Measurable Outcomes

• Operational gains: 30-50% reduction in losses
• Surgical recalls: Target specific batches only
• Compliance: Meets EU EUDR, DSCSA, FDA traceability directive, CDSCO requirements

Strengthen traceability and build product trust. Explore Acviss solutions.

The Future

In 2025, supply chain visibility means more than knowing where a part is. It means understanding how each component interacts with broader systems—compliance frameworks, sustainability commitments, customer experience expectations.

Here are some realistic insights on what’s upcoming:

1. IoT + AI Integration

Sensors log data during production, storage, and transport directly to the blockchain. AI identifies disruption patterns before they spread.

2. Sustainability Tracking

Carbon footprint and ethical sourcing connect to verifiable records.

3. Market Growth

Blockchain for Supply Chain Traceability Market will exceed $55 billion by 2035, growing at 31% annually.

👉 Reality check is that lack of visibility creates risk. Complete visibility creates control.

Getting Started

Start small: Focus on high-value or high-risk product lines

Map your network: Identify where visibility drops in your distributor network

Pilot first: Test geofencing in one region before scaling

Create incentives: Use warranty registration or rewards to encourage scanning

The silent supply chain doesn't have to stay silent. The technology exists. The business case is clear. The only question is whether you're ready to see what's been happening in the dark.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do manufacturers track products after they leave the warehouse?
Most rely on manual methods like emails and spreadsheets, which fail at scale. Modern solutions use serialized QR codes with geofencing and blockchain to provide real-time scan data without requiring distributor cooperation.

Why is supply chain visibility important for recalls?
Without visibility, manufacturers must recall entire product lines instead of targeting specific batches. This multiplies costs and damages brand reputation unnecessarily when only a small subset of products is actually affected.

Can traceability systems integrate with existing ERP platforms like SAP?
Yes. Advanced traceability solutions act as middleware, adding unit-level visibility without replacing ERP systems. They pull order data from ERP and supplement it with real-time location and authentication information.

How does blockchain prevent grey market diversion?
Blockchain creates immutable records of authorized distribution paths. When products appear in unexpected geographies or change hands outside approved channels, the system flags anomalies in real-time, enabling immediate intervention.

What makes QR codes "non-cloneable"?
Standard QR codes can be photographed and reproduced. Non-cloneable versions embed proprietary microscopic physical patterns into the label itself—like a fingerprint. Verification requires both the digital code and the physical structure to match.

How quickly can manufacturers implement post-dispatch visibility solutions?
Pilot programs typically launch within weeks, focusing on high-priority product lines or regions. Full-scale deployment timelines depend on network complexity but generally complete within months, with immediate visibility improvements from day one of activation.